A recent interview with new Spaceport America Chief Executive Officer Daniel Hicks demonstrated why we were so pleased with his hiring. It shows he comes into the job already possessing a firm grasp of where the spaceport is today, where it needs to be tomorrow and how we are going to get there.

Hicks had little time to settle in and learn the ropes since being hired in July to replace Christine Anderson as head of the spaceport. On Friday, he appeared before the New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee in Santa Fe to discuss his plans for commercial space development at the spaceport. The hearing was headed by Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces.

Hicks knows his first order of business as CEO will be to make the spaceport self-sustaining. In fiscal year 2017, they are 71 percent of the way toward that goal, he said. That will increase in 92 percent by fiscal year 2018, with the goal of being completely self-sustaining by fiscal year 2019.

But for the immediate future, limited support from the state will be necessary until the spaceport can reach that goal. That is why hearings like the one Friday are so critical. Some legislators had lost faith with the previous management, and there has been growing concern about the state’s $200 million-plus investment.

Hicks must be able to reassure lawmakers that they have made the necessary corrections and are now at work on a plan that will lead to a vibrant, successful spaceport with multiple tenants adding to the tax base and providing good-paying jobs.

“I got into a spaceport that is up and running,” Hicks said. “I’ll get there and get it running faster. We’ve already done 31 vertical launches at the spaceport, eight to 10 to space and some to lower orbit.”

Companies like UP Aerospace and Exos Aerospace have helped to fill the void as anchor tenant Virgin Galactic continues testing on the spacecraft it will use the launch passengers into sub-orbital space. And other projects are in the pipeline, Hicks said.

“The Department of Defense is looking at the space plane project,” he said. “White Sands is working on a couple of initiatives on the space plane and that is one of the things that is tailor-made for the spaceport, tailor-made for partnership between White Sands, the spaceport, military bases.

And, Hicks noted that Virgin Galactic envisions doing more than space tourism. It is also getting into micro-satellites, which he called “a huge industry where I really see Spaceport America going long-term, being a big, foundational element in commercial space, transport and launch capabilities.”

Hicks isn’t dropping into the job uninformed. He has lived in our community since the inception of the spaceport. He understands both the excitement and expectations during the early days of the facility, and the frustrations many have had in recent years waiting for Virgin Galactic to get started

“I think the greatest challenges facing us is just managing expectations in an industry that is in its infancy and ensuring they continue to remain supportive and strong as we work with SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and other commercialization of space industries that are really getting ready to do some great things,” he said.